Budget Growth Exposes Delaware's Real Priorities By  Charlie Copeland , Director  Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending July 22, 2022     Over the last twenty years, the  Consumer Price Index   has risen 62.3%. In addition, Delaware's population has grown *26.3%, from 783,600 people to 989,948. These two growth rates added together suggest an appropriate target for state spending growth over this period.   In short, any spending increases above 88.6%

Delaware's Mix of Businesses has Changed - Regulations Need to Change By  Charlie Copeland , Director  Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending July 8, 2022     In the late 1990s, Delaware's economy was known for the "four C's" -  Chemicals, Chickens, Cars, and  Credit Cards,  and big business thrived. By 2000, Delaware had 113 business entities across the state that each employed more than 500 people, mainly in those four industries, but then Delaware

Death Spiral Demographics in Delaware  By  Charlie Copeland , Director  Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending May 25, 2022 (Also, published on 5 /31/2022 by Delaware State News . )     In 2011, the  Caesar Rodney Institute (CRI) published an  analysis  showing Delaware's 2007-2009 migration trends. At that time, Delaware was gaining citizens from high-tax, low-growth Northeastern States (two-thirds of in-migration coming from New Jersey, New York, Ma

Delaware's  204.07%  Personal Income Tax rate harms small business owners By  Charlie Copeland , Director  Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending April 25, 2022     Several decades ago, Delaware instituted a  gross receipts tax , aka Delaware's hidden sales tax, that is applied to the business rather than the consumer. When instituted, the tax was meant to be temporary to handle a budget shortfall.   So, why does Delaware still impose this tax when 45

People Want to Give us Gifts By  Charlie Copeland , Director (pictured)  Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending March 28, 2022 (Also, published on 4/3/2022 by Delaware State News .)     Delaware legislators are exempt from Delaware's ethics laws leading the State to become one of the most corrupt in the Nation. This can be fixed.   Delaware has a decades-long history of corruption by elected officials. The title of this article, "People want to give u

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Governor Carney's Missed Opportunity By  Charlie Copeland , Director (pictured)  Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending February 4, 2022 (Also, published on 2/11/2022 by Delaware State News as a Commentary )     With a billion dollars in the American Rescue Plan Act funds and a Federal Reserve-stoked budget surplus in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Governor John Carney had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for boldness. He played "small ball," an

As documented by the Caesar Rodney Institute using U.S. Department of Justice data on convictions of state and local public officials, corruption is a growing problem in Delaware. The historical and research evidence is clear that corruption undermines economic growth. The Governor through an executive order and the legislature through a recent bill have taken a huge step forward to reducing government corruption in the First State. The simplest and most effective way to red

The Beat Goes On Delawareans per capita incomes trend continues the nine-year record of being lower than the national average   by  Charlie Copeland , Co-Director Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending October 12, 2021     The following is an update on the data release that CRI issued on July 2, 2020. CRI, periodically, will continue to update releases like this to demonstrate with data whether Delaware's economy has started to improve in overall term

The "Success Sequence" offers a long-term solution to Delaware violence   by  Charlie Copeland , Co-Director Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending September 27, 2021     Delaware policymakers have promoted policies for years that have led to the breakdown of civil order in several communities in our State. These policies have promoted a sequence of "failure behaviors" that have led directly to the violence and poverty we see. If we really want to bui